I grew up in the 90s watching Wesley Snipes on the big and small screen (VHS, baby!). New Jack City, Demolition Man, Passenger 57, White Men Can’t Jump, and the Blade trilogy. I pretty much thought he was the coolest actor in Hollywood. He was a world-class martial artist and an amazing actor. I felt like that was an impossible thing to exist and yet, here he was.
Flash forward to 2010 comic-con. I am working on a comic book for Radical Comics, called EXILE, an original creation of mine and Keith Arem (whose movie The Phoenix incident I would later produce). The contract was almost closed and we were having dinner with Barry Levine and the many comic book creators he had pulled together to make Radical Comics (a company that would soon collapse afterward despite their success in Hollywood). It was a fancy dinner and sitting across from me was Wesley Snipes. He was working on a comic book called After Dark with Antoine Fuqua. I was floored. I kept trying to figure out a reason to talk with, but couldn’t come up with one.
Radical Comics folds (they never made Exile or paid us), Keith and I go make a movie together and that dinner is long forgotten. I start show running TV and the world moves on. But…. little do I know, Keith and Wes worked on Demolition Man together back in the day.
2021 comes around and Keith calls me saying that Wesley and he had dinner the other night and he wants to do comics. He brought up that old series, EXILE we had created years ago and thought it could be the right thing to pitch Wes as a jumping-off point for a comic to do together.
I am floored. It seems almost like fiction until I am on zoom with Wesley pitching out the story and crafting ideas together. The story changes, we get a new title, THE EXILED, and the character of Det. Niles “Roach” Washington becomes uniquely Wes. The story was now about a detective chasing a serial killer five thousand years in the makings and the dark truths he uncovers.
Dreams do come true. Last week we got to announce to the world what we have been up. You can check the DEADLINE article here, which has now been picked up by more than 40 sites.
The comic book is coming to Kickstarter on June 21st. I have been pouring my heart into writing the book. Gabriel “Eskivo” Santos has been doing incredible lines and Valentina Bianconi has been giving it a beautiful Euro color look.
Sign-up for the mailing list, so you know when it goes live. Day-one backers are going to get a dope 140mm figurine. The book is going to be huge and have secret codes.
Wesley Snipes
Adam, you're simply the best. I dig your work sir! Much Love.